DING! DING! DING! You hit the nail on the head. Let's see....0% APR for 5 YEARS!! Um....about $1,000 in rebates/incentives, cars selling nowhere close to window sticker (at or below invoice) combined with all the other points you made and we have the recipe for low trade-in value. Aside from F-series trucks, what Ford is known to have good resale value? Answer: None. Car buyers who are looking for high resale value shouldn't look to Ford anyway, especially the Focus, instead they should opt for Honda, VW, Audi, etc..

My Mustang held a decent value after five years. Paid about $25k, got about $12k for it. Unlike my neighbors 330Ci BWM - paid about $65k, and book on it is about $20k. I like to point out I "lost" $12k to drive a Convertible Mustang in Southern California for 5 years, he "lost" $40k to drive that BMW.

Most people buy a car as loaded as they can afford. If you had the dough for navi or leather or other goods, would you hold back? And I dont know about you but i'm not interested in getting rid of this car for well after its paid off, and at that point it will definitely be worth more than nothing.

Lets remember again that in the first place, cars are totally worthless investments. You will NEVER get your investment back, no matter how loaded or stripped it is, no matter what car it is, no exceptions. If your dying for retained value, put down 30-50% of the value and it will never be upside down. The only way a car is a sound investment is if you work your way up...buy a car for 2 grand, drive it for 2 years and invest maybe a grand in repairs while in that 2 year time you save up 2500. Sell it for 500, and now you have 3 grand. Repeat that process for a decade and youll have thousands in your pocket and never make payments

Well.....don't let all the air out the sails!!! You can get lucky once in a while...

Well.....don't let all the air out the sails!!! You can get lucky once in a while...

As you said, whether the "investment" retains its value or even grows in value really depends on the car. Many 60s American muscle cars are now selling at 7 to 25 times (and more) their original prices. I don't see a lot of collectible cars in today's selection of cars, but, there will be a few.

As you said, whether the "investment" retains its value or even grows in value really depends on the car. Many 60s American muscle cars are now selling at 7 to 25 times (and more) their original prices. I don't see a lot of collectible cars in today's selection of cars, but, there will be a few.

I honestly think that if Ford were to do a fraction of the new ST's coming out in an RS form, you'd have the makings of a modern day collectible. But not a "let's put it in a hermitically sealed bubble" one. A driver, a real car. Would it be priced just outside of 'normal'?? Yep, you bet. Wait a year or two...listen to the short comings of the ST, build the fixes into an RS along w/a few tweeks and let'em rip!

after my many issues were fixed. ie transmission, and fuel issue a different issue pops up. They fixed the shuttering tranmission with new seals and clutchs. Now with that smoothly shifting trans ive had to scrafice 4.5 mpgs to get that. Its seems its one step forward 2 steps back. I am also in the ford legal process and hopfully can work out a deal to get out of this car as it seems its a never ending cycle.

after my many issues were fixed. ie transmission, and fuel issue a different issue pops up. They fixed the shuttering tranmission with new seals and clutchs. Now with that smoothly shifting trans ive had to scrafice 4.5 mpgs to get that. Its seems its one step forward 2 steps back. I am also in the ford legal process and hopfully can work out a deal to get out of this car as it seems its a never ending cycle.

I notice the bellhousing has gasket shellac sealing it to the motor? how do you tell if you got a bad seal? no leaky/

My Mustang held a decent value after five years. Paid about $25k, got about $12k for it. Unlike my neighbors 330Ci BWM - paid about $65k, and book on it is about $20k. I like to point out I "lost" $12k to drive a Convertible Mustang in Southern California for 5 years, he "lost" $40k to drive that BMW.

Cars never make smart investments - buy what you want to drive.

For me the most useful way to think about car finance wise is cost per year. With a new car, under warranty, you tend to be able to predict that. So if you are paying 4k/year in payments, have 1k in insurance and spend 1k on gas, you're gonna be around 6k per year.

Add in some depreciation and you have it. Most estimates are that a car costs between 5-10k per year. A higher end car costs more and a lower end one costs less. A car like the honda Fit can be sold a few years after you buy it with a really remarkable lack of depreciation. So my GF has one of those and it is probably the most economical car you can get by a pretty hefty margin.

The focus is in the middle somewhere. It isn't that expensive, but resale will be low. Maintenance will likely be low. It will probably average like 6.5-8k per year. A 3 series or 5 series will be a lot more.

By far the most economical way to go is to buy a 7-8 year old honda or toyota and drive it into the ground. UP front cost is low, depreciation can't be much because the car is already cheap and hopefully operating costs are low. Just end up spending a lot of time with the car being fixed.

For me the most useful way to think about car finance wise is cost per year. With a new car, under warranty, you tend to be able to predict that. So if you are paying 4k/year in payments, have 1k in insurance and spend 1k on gas, you're gonna be around 6k per year.

Add in some depreciation and you have it. Most estimates are that a car costs between 5-10k per year. A higher end car costs more and a lower end one costs less. A car like the honda Fit can be sold a few years after you buy it with a really remarkable lack of depreciation. So my GF has one of those and it is probably the most economical car you can get by a pretty hefty margin.

The focus is in the middle somewhere. It isn't that expensive, but resale will be low. Maintenance will likely be low. It will probably average like 6.5-8k per year. A 3 series or 5 series will be a lot more.

By far the most economical way to go is to buy a 7-8 year old honda or toyota and drive it into the ground. UP front cost is low, depreciation can't be much because the car is already cheap and hopefully operating costs are low. Just end up spending a lot of time with the car being fixed.

That works if you are only looking at the money. I refuse to by any Honda I have to like the car or truck to own it. I like my Focus. I liked my Mustang, etc. I drove a Fit, and really did not care for it. I do understand that it would be more practical to own if money was the sole reason.

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